Mothproof felt, etc.



lstented @et. 20,, 1925.

mo'rm or r ms, are.

we ihrswln This invention relates to felted hair prod nets and the like,and has among its prin cipal objects the provision of a hair felt ad,particularly adapted for use as a buffer eneath rugs, which is moresatisfactory and more resistant toward deteriorating infineness than thefelted hair pads hithertolarva. The attack of the vermin will thenlmovvn.

it frequently happens under certain circumstances that hair felt padsormattings,

for use beneath rugs and carpets as a bufi'er' to, protect them fromwear and to add resilience to the door covering, become intested withclothes moth, carpet beetle, larvae, etc. The efiect 0t such infestationis to deteriorate or destroy the pad or floor covering besides creatinga nuisance. The methods hitherto commonly employed for overcoming theseobjectionable features are very diflicult to apply or else they areinefiective and frequently produce deteriorating efiects u on the doorcovering". 'Also they frequent y add to the fire hazar involved, as forexample, when petroleum oils or the like are'employed as thedisinfesting agent.

The resent invention includes an improved elted hair product which isvermin proof and which at the same time possesses substantially all theinherent advantages of normal hair felt as a bufier and forother similaruses and which furthermore retains these desirable properties unimpairedfor the ordinary life of the felt. The present invention also includesan. improved disinfestiug agent or solution, and an improved method 01%applying the same to a wide variety of products made from hair but moreparticularly to the treatment of hues hair products to he used aslenders beneath flo r coverings. I v

l have found that the proofing of hair felt and the like against verminmay he most satisz'factorily accomplished hy means-o1? a Applicationfiled November 22, 1923. Serial No. 676,284.

disinfesting agent which is free from odor and which does not dust 0d orbecome removed by vacuum sweepers and which does not, in general, loseits potency with age under the peculiar conditions of use or storage towhich such pads or felts are ordinarily subjected. l have also foundthat it is highly desirable that a proofing agent for the above purposesshall he of such nature that it Will readily penetrate the fibres of thehair or felt or pad to a uniform extent throughout the material so asto'subject each portion and fibre thereof to the disinfesting agent asotherwise I have found that the vermin Will attack the material atpoints which have not been suh- V jected to the treatment and will thereform nesting places or operating places for the sometimes spread fromthese nesting places to the floor covering and even to other portions ofthe incompletely treated hair itself.

l have discovered that a solution of ordinary White arsenic in alkali orsoda solution when applied in accordance with the method of my inventionfulfills the requirements that l have found to be necessary for oodresults as already mentioned, and at t e same time this solution is freefrom the ohjeetions of the disinfe'sting agents hitherto used for thispurpose, and when applied it is garticularly edective against moth andeetle larvae and the like.

I have also discovered that sodium solution as ordinarily prepared isnot so satisfactory as the modified solution of this invention fortreating such felted hair prod ucts, mattings and the like, and particularly for treating closely woven to 3 hair felt pads such as are usedunder carpets and rugs and the like. l have found that this lesssatisfactory elifect of ordinary sodium arsenite' solutionis due, inpart at least, to its failure to penetrate each and llll felt and alsopreventing the wetting of the hair fibres by the solution. Moreover, Ihave found that if the water solution of ordinary sodium arsenite bemechanically forced into the felt, as by the application of very highpressure, the arsenite, even so, when dried will readily dust out underthe conditions of ordinary use and thus leave the felt unprotected.

The resent invention further includes the application of an improvedarsenite solution to the hair felt and the subsequent removal of thewater therefrom, preferably by ordinary drying. The finished disinfestedfelt is substantially unaffected by this treatment so far as retentionof its desirable properties is concerned, and furthermore, the

residue of the disinfesting agent left in the felt does not readily dustoff from the fibres but adheres tenaciously thereto so that it is notremoved to any objectionable extent in use or by the action of vacuumsweepers and the like. Furthermore, in the a plication of my improvedsolution to the fabric, no complicated means of forcing the solutioninto the pores of the felt is necessary, but on the contrary, theimproved solution penetrates readily and easily into the felt wettinguniformly all the fibres thereof, and advantag'eously may be applied tothe felt by atomizing or spraying it thereon.

My improved arsenioal solution comprises preferably a soluble alkaliarsenite containing animal glue, or other similar glue, and a solubleagent, such as ordinary soap or sodium oleate, capable of substantiallyreducing the surface tension of the solution. My invention furtherincludes the addition of'such quantity of the soap or equivalent agentto the solution as will reduce the surface tension thereof to that rangewhich will impart the desired penetrating properties to the solutionwithout at the same time adversely afi'ectin the adhesive power of thesolutlon after rying, or without attenuating the arsenic content of thedried solution to an objectionable degree or producing any otherdeleterious efi'ects, either durin the application of the solution orafterwards.

The enormously enhanced wetting power of my disinfesting solution can beefiectively demonstrated by pouring a little of the ordinary soaplessarsenite solution upon a small piece of the hair felt and then comparingits behaviour with my improved arsenite solution containing the soap. inthe first case the soapless solution will stand for a protracted periodon the felt without sinking into or wetting it, but in the second casethe soap containing solution wets and sinks into the felt promptly andif a considerable excess of the solution be added to the hair felt thesolution passes through the felt with'al- 7 most as great ease-as waterpasses through anordmary sieve.

My improved disinfesting solution is more readily atomized or broken .upinto spray than similar solutions hitherto in use in. this art and thesmaller droplets thus produced by sprayin or atomizing also contributeto a more uniform distribution throughout the felt and over the surfaceof the fibres when applied in this manner.

In the practice of my invention,'I may apply my improved solution to thefelt by spraying it upon the hair fibre either before or durin thefelting operation or while the felt is being passed on conveyers on itsway to the final drying closets in the process of manufacturing, asordinarily carried out,

but I find it particularly advantageous to apply the solution during thefelting operation, since in the usual process of manufacture it isusually necessary that the fibre be heavily moistened with water inorder to aid in the proper felting of the fibres.

I have found that a satisfactory disinfesting solution for proofing hairfelt against moth, beetle larvae and the like may be prepared by mixingcertain ingredients in certain proportions as shown in the followingformula, which is given by way of an example festing solution, it beingunderstood that my invention is illustrated thereby and is notrestricted to the particular ingredients or to the particularproportions described.

lVater, 10 gallons; soda ash crystals, 43 pounds; white arsenic, 1Opounds; glue, 1 pound; soap, 4 to pound.

The water may be heated to near boiling in an iron mixing kettle, thesoda added, and the remaining ingredients then dissolved. About 18.8ounds of anhydrous soda may be employed in the above formula in place ofthe'soda ash crystals. The soap employed may be, for example, sodiumoleate. In place of glue, other suitable adhesives may be employed.

It is to be understood that in the above formula the proportion of watercan be varied within rather wide limits but, in general, it isadvantageous to employ a sufiicient quantity to carry the arsenite, glueand soap throughout the felt and yet less than an amount which wouldcause objectionable expense in the final drying of the felt due to thelarger proportion of water to be evaporated. Likewise, theamount of soapmay be varied, but I find 'that the minimum amount desirable is thatwhich causes the spray droplets to be smaller in size, and

more important still, that amount which causes the droplets to sink atonce into the felt rather than to stand out. on to of the felt a do theordinary solutions. he glue ifsr pre erably a good grade animal glue mery. I may, however, substitute for animal glue. other glue odor and of auality which does not become brittle when or embodiment of my improveddisinsimilar properties when applied in the manner and in accordancewith the method of h the present invention, such for example as a ployedin disinfesting and vermin proofing other manufactured hairproducts, inthe treatment ofhair products with other arsenic containing solutions,and generally to the treatment of hair products with solutions ofdisinfesting a ents which will not thoroughly wet the hair fibres. i

I claim:

1. The method of disinfesting and.p1'oof-.

ing manufactured hair products against vermin, which comprisessubjecting the fibers of the hair to the action of a solution of anarsenical compound, soap and an adhesive to thoroughly wet-the fibersand then allowing the hair product to dry whereby a coating of saidcompound will be left on thecompound will be left on the fibers of theair.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a manufactured hair productimpregnated with a solution containing an arsenical compound, soap andadhesive, and having a coating of said solution adhering to the fibersthereof.

4. As a new article of manufacture, ahair .product impregnated with asolution containing an arsenical compound, a surface tensionreducingagent and an adhesive, and having acoating ofsaid solutionadhering to the fibers thereof.

5. As a new product for disinfesting and proofing manufacturedhairproducts against vermin, a solution contain ng an arsenicalcompound, a surface tension reducing agent and an adhesive, saidsolution being adapted to leave an adhering coating thereof on thefibers of the hair.

. 6. As a new product for disinfesting and proofing manufactured hairproducts against vermin, a solution containing an arsenical compound,soap and an adhesive, said solution being adapted to leave an adheringcoating thereof on the fibers of the hair.

7. The method of applying an arsenic solution to felted hair productswhich comprises reducing the surface tension of the solution, atomizingthe solution into a spray of very fine droplets, and subjecting thefelted fibres to the action of the said spray.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

. BERT A. STAGNER.

